What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Mass's GH

  • #1,201
Those all look great, Travis. You're doing something really well with those Helis, too.

Real quickly, though.. I'm pretty sure I wrote 1/4 teaspoon per gallon for that fertilizer. You just gave them 4x more than what I apply, so I'd say it's time to flush.

You're right. I meant to say 1/4tsp, which is what you said and what I used. Just a typo is all..
I moved the unused 8 bulb T5HO fixture that was over the neps to the helis and ceph area. They seem to be enjoying the extra light!
 
  • #1,202
As promised, here's the remaining pics from day 1 of ferts.

BE N. hamata





H. "Tequila" (Red)



H. minor



Some of the cephs and helis. All of the cephs dropped their color at the beginning of winter. Hoping to see them darken up again now that temps are warming up.



For size reference.



Starting off the LL's is BE N. truncata 'Pasian'



N. albomarginata 'Kuching Spotted'



This one seems to like intermediate-LL conditions better than HL.
SG N. lowii x (northiana x veitchii HL)







SG N. sibuyanensis x (northiana x veitchii HL)







N. "Whisper" hating Michigan





BE N. northiana



N. truncata



 
Last edited:
  • #1,203
Nice truncata! I'm thinking about getting one myself. What growing medium do you use for your Nepenthes under the live sphagnum?
 
Last edited:
  • #1,204
Nice truncate! I'm thinking about getting one myself. What growing medium do you use for your Nepenthes under the live sphagnum?

Thank you. A must have for any collection IMO..
I use the same media mix for all of my neps. Orchid bark, perlite, charcoal, and dead LFS all topped with a delicious live LFS garnish.
 
  • #1,205
:hail: to you and your expertly grown plants.
 
Last edited:
  • #1,206
:hail: to you and your expertly grown plants.

Which is funny because my entire purpose with this post was to show just how expert I'm not.
Just trying to make some changes bettering my chances, and showing the results along the way.
Thanks to my lack of memory, this thread has become my online notebook.. with pics!

Note to self: all nep pots were flushed today with pure RO, 24hrs after first 1/4 strength root drench.
 
  • #1,207
Interesting that your cephs changed to pure green. Did they see lower temps or less light over winter?

As far as showing how expert you are not - that didn't happen. :)
 
  • #1,208
Nepenthes looking good as always mass :)
 
  • #1,209
quality update Mass,and i hope one day to be a non expert too:-D loving the army of cephs,do they flower for you
 
Last edited:
  • #1,211
You're right. I meant to say 1/4tsp, which is what you said and what I used. Just a typo is all..
I moved the unused 8 bulb T5HO fixture that was over the neps to the helis and ceph area. They seem to be enjoying the extra light!

That would have been a stressful reintroduction to fertilizer. Your plants look good, man. How close are they to the lights now?

High light and low nights should bring out the color in your Cephs. Are you feeding them at all? Low nitrogen (very low) could cause that, but it's usually yellowish.
 
  • #1,212
That would have been a stressful reintroduction to fertilizer. Your plants look good, man. How close are they to the lights now?

High light and low nights should bring out the color in your Cephs. Are you feeding them at all? Low nitrogen (very low) could cause that, but it's usually yellowish.

The neps are 2ft below 4 T5HO's, and the helis and cephs are 1.5ft below 8 T5HO's.
I haven't fed anything other than my dews for quite some time, no. But everything (other than the dews and sarrs) are getting the fert treatment now.
Should I add a small amount of ferts to the pitchers as well? And would that count as "feeding"? I don't fully understand the in's and out's of fertilizers.

Interesting that your cephs changed to pure green. Did they see lower temps or less light over winter?

As far as showing how expert you are not - that didn't happen. :)

Yessir, both actually. Hoping it's just a side effect of a mild winter dormancy..

quality update Mass,and i hope one day to be a non expert too:-D loving the army of cephs,do they flower for you

Never, no. I've actually never seen a ceph flower before..
 
  • #1,213
The neps are 2ft below 4 T5HO's, and the helis and cephs are 1.5ft below 8 T5HO's.
I haven't fed anything other than my dews for quite some time, no. But everything (other than the dews and sarrs) are getting the fert treatment now.
Should I add a small amount of ferts to the pitchers as well? And would that count as "feeding"? I don't fully understand the in's and out's of fertilizers.

Well, I only fertilize neps now. I have fertilized helis and cephs in the past, and it didn't seem to really hurt them, but I find it difficult to gauge what they like or don't like, so I just keep it in the pitchers. Plus, it's less maintenance when you don't allow the media to break down as quickly. I would buy some decent fish food to put in the pitchers and maybe use a pipette to add liquid fertilizer to them as well. You can experiment with root fertilization, but it can cause some problems if the media isn't loose enough. And when I say "feed," I usually mean adding nutrients to the pitchers - although it's really the same thing either way.

Unless it gets too hot, you might consider putting the plants closer to the lights. I keep my small Nepenthes roughly 18'' away from the lights, while some of my larger plants are growing within a few inches of them. Helis and Cephs could probably be within a foot of the lights, with perhaps a bit of mist blowing on them to keep them cool. There's a huge difference in PAR between 24'' and 18'', let alone 18'' and <12'', and the plants will definitely utilize it if the leaf temp. doesn't become too high (although you can offset this with high CO2).
 
  • #1,214
Well, I only fertilize neps now. I have fertilized helis and cephs in the past, and it didn't seem to really hurt them, but I find it difficult to gauge what they like or don't like, so I just keep it in the pitchers. Plus, it's less maintenance when you don't allow the media to break down as quickly. I would buy some decent fish food to put in the pitchers and maybe use a pipette to add liquid fertilizer to them as well. You can experiment with root fertilization, but it can cause some problems if the media isn't loose enough. And when I say "feed," I usually mean adding nutrients to the pitchers - although it's really the same thing either way.

Unless it gets too hot, you might consider putting the plants closer to the lights. I keep my small Nepenthes roughly 18'' away from the lights, while some of my larger plants are growing within a few inches of them. Helis and Cephs could probably be within a foot of the lights, with perhaps a bit of mist blowing on them to keep them cool. There's a huge difference in PAR between 24'' and 18'', let alone 18'' and <12'', and the plants will definitely utilize it if the leaf temp. doesn't become too high (although you can offset this with high CO2).
I have 6 t5HO lights at around 18" away and a 75watt LED UFO at a foot away from my nepenthes and I have already seen huge improvements in the month that I had it like that. It used to be just the 6t5ho lights at around 22".
 
  • #1,215
Heat is never really an issue since the GH has AC running year round.
I know my plants were showing great color when the 8 bulb was 2ft above, but the pitchers weren't getting as large.
Like I mentioned in Mat's thread, the pitchers hidden away from the direct light in between the pots were twice the size of the pitchers sitting directly on top of the pots. So naturally I assumed the lack of increased pitcher size was due to too much light. Hence the change from 8 bulbs to only 4..
They haven't been under the 4 bulb long enough for me to gauge whether they'd benefit from the lights being closer or not. Guess this is where a light meter would come into play huh?
 
  • #1,216
For example..

8 bulb



4 bulb

 
Last edited:
  • #1,217
omg, I think it's OFFICIALLY spring time here in New Canada. Things are finally starting to wake up..







 
  • #1,218
Ha! New Canada. I believe I live on the west end of it. 'Good to see things growing and sprouting out for you.
 
  • #1,219
Thanks Mark!!

So just finished the 2nd month of "mato's nep ferting 101", and honestly.. it's my new favorite class.
Thought I'd show an update of a few of the leaf jumps I've been noticing.

vogelii #1



vogelii #2



hamata



robcantleyi



lowii x truncata



before ferts:



after ferts:



veitchii HL (Pa'Umor)



N. "Whisper"



truncata 'Pasian'



I also got the cephs setup into their summer window rack. Hoping to see some color and maybe some flower stalks in the upcoming weeks.



 
Last edited:
  • #1,220
Sweet results on the neps! Hope them cephs don't get loose and eat the neighbors dog! :lol:
 
Back
Top